Airbus, Victoryland among top 10 state stories of 2012

Published: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.

Top 10 stories in Alabama in 2012 as compiled by The Associated Press:

1. European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announces it will build commercial aircraft in Mobile.

2 ) Republican Roy Moore is elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, nine years after he was removed from the same office. Meanwhile, Republican Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh defeated incumbent Public Service Commission President Lucy Baxley.

3) Three people, including two former Auburn football players, are killed and three people injured at a pool party near the university’s campus.

4) VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor and other defendants are acquitted in one of the state’s most high-profile corruption cases.

5) A stepmother and grandmother are charged in the death of a 9-year-old girl who was forced to run as punishment.

6) Gabe Watson is acquitted in the scuba diving death of his wife during their honeymoon in Australia.

7) University of Alabama in Huntsville biology professor Amy Bishop pleads guilty to charges that she fatally shot three people and wounded three others during a faculty meeting.

8) University of Alabama President Guy Bailey resigns two months after taking over as the university’s president. At Alabama State University, new President Joseph Silver is suspended in November.

9) A freshman student, Gil Collar of Wetumpka, is shot and killed at the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile by a university police officer.

10) Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman reports to a federal prison to finish serving his sentence in a government corruption case. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, convicted with Siegelman in 2006, completed his sentence this year.

<p>Top 10 stories in Alabama in 2012 as compiled by The Associated Press: </p><p>1. European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announces it will build commercial aircraft in Mobile. </p><p>2 ) Republican Roy Moore is elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, nine years after he was removed from the same office. Meanwhile, Republican Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh defeated incumbent Public Service Commission President Lucy Baxley. </p><p>3) Three people, including two former Auburn football players, are killed and three people injured at a pool party near the university's campus. </p><p>4) VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor and other defendants are acquitted in one of the state's most high-profile corruption cases. </p><p>5) A stepmother and grandmother are charged in the death of a 9-year-old girl who was forced to run as punishment. </p><p>6) Gabe Watson is acquitted in the scuba diving death of his wife during their honeymoon in Australia. </p><p>7) University of Alabama in Huntsville biology professor Amy Bishop pleads guilty to charges that she fatally shot three people and wounded three others during a faculty meeting. </p><p>8) University of Alabama President Guy Bailey resigns two months after taking over as the university's president. At Alabama State University, new President Joseph Silver is suspended in November. </p><p>9) A freshman student, Gil Collar of Wetumpka, is shot and killed at the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile by a university police officer. </p><p>10) Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman reports to a federal prison to finish serving his sentence in a government corruption case. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, convicted with Siegelman in 2006, completed his sentence this year.</p>